It’s pretty rare for me to laugh when watching a basketball game. Ralph Lawler’s quips will usually produce a mild chuckle, and I’ll admit that I get more than a little giggly when his patented “Bingo” turns into an emphatic and somewhat delirious “BAAAANGO!” But for the most part, basketball broadcasts (Taiwan travel commercials aside) rarely make me laugh out loud. But tonight? Tonight was different. Tonight was a laugher in every sense of the word.

How bad is it? The Warriors D-League callups score a combined 36 points. All 180 pounds of Stephen Curry gets 10 rebounds and a triple-double. Andris Biedrins plays 13 minutes…even though the Warriors only suit up eight healthy guys. Something called Anthony Tolliver plays 46 minutes and scores a career high 29 points. The Warriors’ two best players this year (Ellis and Maggette) don’t even play. The Clippers shoot 18 for 57 on shots not at the rim, even though the Warriors sport a three-guard lineup that can’t exactly contest shots. The Warriors end up with an offensive efficiency number of 136.1 teamed with an effective field goal percentage of 70.3 percent, which doesn’t seem like it should be humanly possible. So yeah, it’s all laughably bad.

The Clippers main problem is that they spend most of the evening in defensive no man’s land. For all intents and purposes, many of the Clippers cover absolutely no one tonight, and instead hover within a small area where they are completely and utterly useless because they can’t help on penetration, and they can’t closeout quick enough on shooters. Baron Davis establishes this tone in the first quarter by continually leaving Stephen Curry all alone on the perimeter where Curry predictably and repeatedly makes him pay to the tune of five made threes. Baron’s performance tonight is kind of reminiscent of that roommate who cleans a single dish just so they can say they did the dishes. Baron’s not really helping defensively. He’s just pretending to.

Offensively the Clippers are a disaster tonight. After Baron Davis has trouble scoring on the block early against Curry it all falls apart and the floor spacing after these failed post up attempts becomes beyond atrocious. Even when the Clippers are granted with golden opportunities, they still manage to fail spectacularly. When Stephen Curry gets his third foul with 7:48 to go in the 2nd quarter, Don Nelson hides Curry on first Rasual Butler, then Mardy Collins. The result? A combined 1 for 5 from the field, 2 points, and no fouls drawn. It’s the story of the game, as the Clippers don’t punish Golden State one bit for playing small ball. Chris Kaman grabs one offensive rebound the entire game despite towering over his competition. Rasual Butler takes jumpers in transition despite there not being a potential offensive rebounder in sight. The general feel is not unlike that of the 2008-09 season. Eric Gordon gets keyed on, Baron Davis gets discouraged early and starts settling for outrageously long 3s, Chris Kaman gets absolutely swarmed and gets flustered, and the whole offense goes down the drain. You don’t deserve to win if you can’t figure out a way to punish a Warriors team that is one of the worst defensive units in all of basketball.

The most memorable play of the game (for me, anyway) actually isn’t a play at all. With 6 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Stephen Curry draws a foul and the play gets whistled dead. With the action clearly halted, Curry shoots a throwaway 3-pointer…but out of nowhere, in a Kevin Garnett-esque act of defiance, DeAndre Jordan soars to the rim and catches the ball before it can go in. The Clippers have just surrendered 44 points in the third quarter alone, and are behind a whopping 36 points, but here’s DeAndre sending some sort of strange message to the Warriors.It’s pathetic, nonsensical and hilarious all in one.

The whole scene really sums things up nicely. The Clippers seem to perform certain “tasks” on the basketball court because they think it’s what they’re supposed to do, but they’re not really sure. It’s most obvious on the defensive end, where their actions lack conviction or a sense of purpose. The Clippers look like they’ve lost faith in their system, their fellow teammates, their season, and most importantly, themselves. Rarely this year have the Clippers effectively quit on a game. Even in the most embarrassing of losses and the biggest of deficits, the Clippers have at least made it competitive. When you come out and give up 46 points in the third quarter to a shorthanded team composed of D-Leaguers and second round draft picks after they just handed your lunch to you in the first half, that’s quitting. There’s no sugar-coating that. There’s no injury excuse to fall back on. There’s no head coach restricting your supposedly immense talent. There’s no morsel of optimism here.

It goes without saying that the Clippers are heading into the All-Star break in one giant hole. They can still scratch and claw their way out of it and finish the season in a respectable manner, but that would require the players to take some accountability. Sadly enough, it may be more realistic to assume that February 10th is the night the season died.

i think the season died in memphis when they blew that 18 point lead, and when they learned blake was out for the season, and when they lost to ATL, CLV, DEN,Lakers,minnesota,new jersey,san antonio, and utah

matt

video analysis please?

bongstradamus

Time for a game of “Who Am I?”

I’m over 7 foot tall but I cant jump, rebound or dunk and average 3 turnovers a game with the grace of a newborn calf and expect to be an All-Star. When i get the ball i dont know whether to put it on the floor or let someone just take it from me. Who am i?

I was the most popular kid at fat camp, I love to take terrible shots from 50 feet out, I have warm and loving relationships with all my coaches and I secretly have a crush on Queen Latifah and Carne Asada Chimichangas. Who am I?

I’m the teams most efficient player off the bench I was perfect from the field today but im lucky if I get 15 minutes a game. Who am I?

I can jack 6 shots in 8 minutes and make 1 basket, I generate a foul every 2 minutes of play and I love Isaiah Thomas for drafting me and making me a millionaire even though I have almost no upside to my game and do things that make George W. Bush look like a Rhodes Scholar. Who am i?

I’m athletically freakish, raw, unrefined, passionate and aggressive on the boards, funny and quippy and I get along with all my teammates but cant seem to buy consistent minutes even though I was once a projected lottery pick. Who am I?

Sometimes the best remedy for tragedy is to just laugh.

Rtazer

This is hilarious!!!!

RL

1. Kaman
2. BD
3. Rhino
4. Mardy
5. DJ

How’d I do?

bongstradamus

A+ 100%!

heh

Beard The Curse

It took you this long to pronounce the season dead?

David

The Clippers need to clean house trade Camby for prince which he has two championships.or Caron butler or Andre from philly we will have no chance in free agency what we will end up with,
is over paying for manu or some other has been star like Baron . And trade kaman 2 build around
Gordon Blake and what other free agent the clipps should send Baron and kaman to the Rockets
for Tmac .expiring contract the clipps need to start fresh .Gordon and Blake there draft pick .
Gordon has a 41 point game in his rookie season if gordon got 20 shots a game he would score 30
a night Baron and Kaman both need to go very selfish players.

Formerly Section 113

love nonsensical posts….why in the world would the Wiz or Sixers trade Iguadola or Butler for Camby? They are both rebuilding, he doesn’t get them far enoough along or has an expiring contract large enough to make a difference….Gordon would average 30 a game…funny, since Lebron, Kobe or Melo are just a shade below…so Gordon is in their league?

Q.D.

I know this post is out of frustration, but there is no way Gordon is #1 player on any team, he’s a good #3 option like a caron butler.

neil

Remember its Dunleavy who got this collection of players together…..These players for the most part are not ” Character ” guys….second..Hughes is NOT a coach…..

Formerly Section 113

thank you Neil…it has somehow morphed into DUNCEleavy is a good GM/Player personnel guy…he is a DUNCE in all capacities….remember this is the guy who went to battle with q. Ross insisting he was a defensive presence, and once we let him go…he has played about 100 minutes in the league.

Hooch20

Why not just blow it up completely?

I can handle a team that loses, but I can’t handle a team that doesn’t give 100% every night.

Surely someone would take Baron and Kaman off of our hands. How about those two to Miami for O’Neal? Miami could run Baron, Wade, Beasley, Haslem, and Kaman. That sounds pretty damn nice to me.

Would going into the summer with Griffin, Gordon, and a ton of cap space be that bad?

Formerly Section 113

why would anyone want Baron…everyone now knows that he is a quitter and over-rated, and besides Miami is saving their $$$ for a run at Lebron too, why would they burden themselves with $25M of drech.

Q.D.

To add, I can handle a team that has ZERO expectations. I can’t handle a team, whose only expectation is to be decent.

I would love to get Bosh over the summer and send Kaman packing for a SF like Battier. It’s always the offseason.

Q.D.

So. when does the lottery ball drop again?

Old Skool Clip Fan

Yep, we clipfans might as well pack it in – the team has. They may have shut out Dunleavy but they can’t even hear Hughes. It’s a joke. Trade Camby now, respect him enough to put him in a better situation. We don’t deserve him. Every year we get suckered into thinking things will be different – but guess what? Same Old Sh_ _. I’m to depressed to keep writing…

http://www.firedunleavy.com FireDunleavy .com

The team is still in a decent position for next year if they get one of the top free agents. The team is stuck with BD, he’s not tradeable. For the rest of the year, you have to see which players work well with him. It will be hard because players will try to pad their stats hoping for a new contract or a trade.

You have 7 days to trade Camby, Kaman also has some value, but isn’t as much a priority to trade as Camby right now. I’d also try to get rid of Butler, he doesn’t seem to fit with this team.

http://fanaticteeshop.com Roy

I’m in the middle of moving right now, so I have been without a TV all week. What I thought was a nuisance turned out to be a huge blessin. At least I didn’t waste my time watching these last few clunkers…Better luck next year! I just don’t understand how so many less talented teams can overachieve, yet we CONSISTENTLY underachieve no matter who we have out there…

TNT57

Has anyone else had enough of this garbage? Sit Baron’s ass for the rest of the season and let him watch. Cut, trade or sit Butler. This is crazy.

http://www.versantewheels.com era

There is a great trade on ESPN today if you are an insider. Check it out i would do it in a minute. We need to shake up the organization. What a bad perfomance. D-league beats the Clippers. Unbeivable………

SamMays

The absolute best thing Baron could do for this franchise is retire. If he really is a team-first guy that he says he is (lies) that’s just what he’d do.

We’ve had the two most frustrating years in Clipper history with him as our “leader.” The guy is a dog… We must get rid of him somehow, even if we have to package Kaman or a first round pick with him, getting only a second round pick in return… Only through his absense can this team start to improve.

Can you imagine Baron in three years if he’s this bad now? And this is the year he promised to change after mailing it in all last year. The man is a bad joke.

Can Dunleavy please ask for his money back on the guy?

orville85

Unfortunately wiith Dunleavy as GM, I would imagine his control needs would preclude him from hiring an effective head coach. Another problem is that free agent players who have an agenda of winning or being in a positive basketball would want nothing to do with the Clips.

David

Ok so Gordon may not score 30 a game if he had more touches he would be better than kaman.Barons high as a pro is 40 points gordon did that in his rookie year with 41 .Gerald wallace should have been our small forward when the bobcats came calling last season wanting Kaman least crash hustles and is second in the league in rebounding .and is averaging 20 a game just like kaman and a way better defender .

clippertone323

trade camby..he needs to be on a winning team.. would love to trade baron but no one’s takin that money of the clips. baron and camby to cleveland for shaq would be great.

O.V.

Curry told BD something, we don’t need you, we don’t want you.
Now the couch is out what is the excuse BD, point fingers at your teammates.
Clippers lack of leadership is the problem, BD is not their leader is just another player, want to trade Camby big mistake trade BD and find a real PG with no Ego, at least not that big.

Curtis

Cya later Camby. I hope you find a good place to round out your career. Sorry Clippers are such a loser organization.

http://twitter.com/dmisen dean

Unfortunately, I was at this game, wearing a bright red Clippers t-shirt…my bad! If you just looked at the score and saw they lost by 30, well, it really wasn’t that close. Never competitive, never. Kim Hughes looks lost on the bench, why didn’t they put John Lucas in charge?

Stephen Curry was as hot as I’ve seen anyone in a long time. But letting Tolliver torch you? Come on. Funniest moment of the night? As I left at the beginning of the 4th quarter, with the Clippers behind by 37, a Warriors fan said “Great team spirit.” My answer, “What, I should stick around to see if they can cut it down to 20?” Which by the way, the didn’t.

A few weeks ago we were 2 games under .500. Now we are rapidly heading towards a high lottery pick again. Dunleavy stepping down was a bad sign that everyone has given up.

crimelaw

Is it possible that our GM picked Kim Hughes because he knew he was the wrong man for the job& would fail ,so our previous coach & GM could say “I told you it wasn’t my fault”? Just asking.

nebur60

As poorly as the clippers played, the season is not over yet. There’s still a chance that they can at least make the playoffs. It’s only one game. When the Laker’s lost by a large margin to Denver this year did you give up on them. Most of you people commenting sound like you’ve only been following basketball for just a short time. I’m primarily a Laker fan, but I’m also a Clipper fan. Don’t forget they’ve already won as many games this year as they did all of last year. I’m not giving up on them yet. You so called Clipper fans can watch another city’s team. Bandwagon types are what you seem to be.

Drizzy

Bandwagon fans?! I do not see a bunch of people becoming clippers fans and supporting the team blindly because its the cool thing to do. Stick to being a Lakers fan cause it is obvious you don’t understand the frustration Clippers fan go through on a regular basis which is what we’re all going through right now.

And playoffs?! In a stacked conference where you need to be way over .500 just to make the playoffs, the Clippers would have to win at least 25 of the next 30 games which I highly doubt that this team can do.

raptor33

we clipper fans are not jumping ship, we just really don’t like this BD guy. like others have said, we love the team, win or lose (and often times losing comes in bunches), but this may be the worst because there is not heart out there. I am just going to wait till Dunleavy finds a way to bring in a real leader. I hope griffin’s positive attitude can overcome the negativity that now surrounds our team